SA faces battle over African swine fever outbreak

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South Africa is fighting an outbreak of African swine fever, a highly contagious disease that causes fatal haemorrhages in pigs, the government said on Thursday.

“An outbreak of African swine fever (ASF) has been reported in the Northern Cape province in the Springbok area after movement of pigs from the Kimberley area,” said the country’s agriculture ministry in a statement.

The disease does not affect humans.

“Pigs become sick at a rapid pace and the disease can result in a great number of… deaths of pigs in a short span of time. Severe cases of the disease are characterised by high fever where pigs die quickly within two to ten days,” the ministry added.

The disease is transmitted through contact with other infected pigs or ticks as well as by feeding pigs infected kitchen waste.